What is Searchlight on Campaign 2001?Searchlight
on Campaign 2001 is a guide to the political races in what
many are calling New York City's most significant campaign
season in modern history.

What is so significant about it?For
the first time in memory, most political offices in the city
will be wide open to people who have neither money nor connections.

Why will the races be so open?There
are two reasons. This year, a new law goes into effect that
limits the terms of New York City elected officials, forcing
the mass retirement of most incumbents in the city - including
the mayor, the comptroller, the public advocate, four of the
five borough presidents, and 36 of the 51 members of the City
Council. At the same time, a new campaign finance law kicks
in, which allows any candidate who agrees to certain restrictions
to collect four dollars of matching funds for every dollar
they raise.

What does this have to do with this site?As
a public service, Searchlight on Campaign 2001 has a separate
page for each race, including all the races for City Council,
that not only sorts out the candidates -- many of them new
and unfamiliar -- but also offers an opportunity to learn
about the issues, and the districts themselves.

Who is behind Searchlight on Campaign 2001?
Searchlight
on Campaign 2001 is a project of Gotham Gazette, a non-profit,
non-partisan, non-ideological (but non-boring) web site about
New York City news, policy and politics published by Citizens
Union Foundation, part of the oldest and largest good-government
group in the city (founded in 1897).

What's wrong with the way the regular press
covers the races?That
is for you to decide. And one of our regular features, Campaign
Trail, helps you to decide. Campaign Trail provides succinct
summaries and links to campaign articles in the commercial
press.

More than any other concentrated area of the city, the northern
tip of Manhattan is a place that today's new immigrants call home.

Between 1992 and 1996, nearly 50,000 new immigrants moved to
Manhattan between 122nd and 220th Street. The majority came from
the Dominican Republic, but also from countries in South America,
Eastern Europe, and Asia. But it is not just new immigrants that
are moving in. Students, artists, and other Manhattanites looking
for less expensive rents and larger apartments have also moved
north.

For
more information on this district -- its schools, its crime
statistics and more -- click here.

In many ways, these new residents have helped bring a renewed
sense of vitality to the area: Russian deli's have sprung up next
to bodegas, previously empty storefronts on Broadway are full
of new businesses, and much of the dilapidated housing is being
renovated.

"Our economic development has really grown," said Jackie Rowe-Adams,
a candidate for City Council in district 7. "It is awesome. Our
neighborhoods are booming."

But the influx of new residents has also brought challenges.

For one, affordable housing in West Harlem, Washington Heights,
Manhattanville, and Inwood is becoming more difficult to find.
And since 93 percent of the area is renter-occupied, the area
is susceptible to rising real estate prices.

"The problem comes not when new people arrive, but when the people
who have been living there are forced to leave," said candidate
Mark Levine, who runs a credit union that provides loans to local
homebuyers. "If we can encourage more homeownership, it not only
insures that people are not pushed out of the neighborhood by
new development, but that they actually benefit from it."

Candidate Victor Armando Bernace also suggests that the remaining
vacant land and buildings can be put to better use. He advocates
reforming the tax code to punish "absentee landlords" and return
abandoned property to the active housing market.

A major challenge for all of the candidates running for City
Council in district 7 this year will be to find ways to welcome
new residents into the political process, while advocating for
the people who have lived there for years.

But even with the revitalization that has come to the area in
the last decade, some of the old problems are still present.

District 7 has one of the largest public school student populations
in the city, more than half of who are scoring below the national
average in reading and math. The candidates agree that improving
public education in the area hinges on a combination of parental
involvement, teacher and student accountability, and increased
funding.

One candidate, Robert Jackson, was part of the lawsuit by the
Campaign for Fiscal Equity that resulted in a ruling requiring
New York state to revamp its school funding formula to give more
money to city schools. "We need to make sure that education is
the primary focus of the City Council," said Jackson. "It should
be the number one issue in all campaigns."

If elected, Mario Torres hopes he can initiate creative partnerships
between schools and neighborhood corporations to bring new resources
such as computers into area classrooms.

The candidates also add that keeping the district's streets safe
is critical, since the area still has one of the highest homicide
rates in the city.

"I lost two sons to gun violence," said Rowe-Adams. "And we're
not talking enough about guns. Not just nationally, we need to
talk about it locally."

Tony Spencer added that more resources are needed to clean up
illegal drug activity along Amsterdam Avenue, one of the few remaining
open-air drug markets in Manhattan. He also believes that creating
youth programs can keep both young people and the streets safer.

As for health care, a Manhattanville clinic on 126th Street and
Old Broadway that has served the areas children for years has
been closed for over six months, awaiting repairs. Others say
it has been closed for good.

"We need to welcome immigrants to America," said Spencer, "by
ensuring that they have insurance that makes health care readily
accessible."

Ultimately, the candidates want to make sure the city's resources
allocated for their district keep up with the growing population.

Torres proposes a program, conducted with groups such as the
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone and business improvement districts,
to help local entrepreneurs and business owners learn about loan
programs and assistance. "Two businesses near where I live have
undertaken major initiatives to expand and did it with their own
money," said Torres. "We have to do a better job of informing
people of these resources."

As teachers, lawyers, community and school board members, activists,
and political leaders, these candidates are already running on
their community record, before they even get into office. "The
voters will have to evaluate candidates by asking--what have you
done for the community?" said Jackson.

The winning candidate may be the one who can not only get their
own constituents to the polls, but appeal to a cross section of
people: immigrants from around the world, ex-Upper West Siders,
and those who have lived in northern Manhattan for years.

posted 4/6/01

Campaign
Update:

The list of candidates in district 7 has grown to an astonishing
14, according to the Board of Elections, one of the most crowded
contests in the city. Joining the race recently are Democratic
candidates Heyward Dotson, Pedro Morillo and Daryl G. Bloodsaw,
Independence candidates Allen Cox and Nicholas Kallivokas, Republican
Faisal Sipra, and Libertarian Greg Draves.

Of the 14 candidates, however, only four have registered with
the Campaign Finance Board for matching funds.

In this crowded race and that will draw only about 15,000 Democratic
voters for the primary September 11th, the winner could be decided
by under a hundred votes. But not all of the people running now
will necessarily make it onto the ballot.

According to Democratic candidate Michael Hughes, there have
been an onslaught of challenges to the nominating petitions of
several of the candidates. "As always, we are fighting like cats
and dogs," says Hughes. The practice of challenging voters' signatures
in order to try to knock
an opponent off the ballot is routine in New York City politics.

In his campaign, Hughes is stressing community involvement as
a way to improve the area and decrease crime,. "What I am involved
with is working with the people in the street," he says.. "It
is necessary to volunteer with your fellow residents, go around
picking up garbage, making sure our kids aren't misbehaving, and
making sure that our streets are safe."

Libertarian Greg Draves says abandoned property held by the city
should be sold to the public. "The city should not be in the business
of keeping rent high, they should be the in the business of trying
to keep an open market," says Draves. "The city should be willing
to auction off property that is unused by people, to individuals
within the community."

The Democratic candidates are looking for endorsements that will
help boost their campaigns. Mario Torres received the endorsements
of State Senator Olga Mendez and the Liberal party, which means
he will appear on the ballot in the general election in November.
Mark Levine received the endorsement of the local Audubon Reform
Democratic Club. Robert Jackson enjoys the backing of the county
Democratic organization. Current Councilmember Stanley Michels
has not endorsed a candidate yet and some expect that he may not
endorse anyone.

"It's a great race," says Levine. "I think it is a good thing
for the area. There are a number of qualified candidates in the
group."

Posted 7/20/01

Candidate Biographies

Victor Armando Bernace, who grew up in a poor and abusive
household and went to Harvard Law School, taught high school history
in the Bronx for six years before deciding to start his own law
practice that helps primarily Dominican cab drivers resolve traffic
violations. He also serves on the board of directors for the Bronx
Independent Living Services, which helps people with disabilities.

Daryl Bloodsaw (no information available)

Allen Cox (no information available)

Heyward Dotson (no information available)

Greg Draves graduated from New York University where he
studied Film and Television. He is a Corporate Secretary for Mensa,
a stage manager for Trip, and has been involved in helping Habitat
for Humanity build affordable housing.

Michael Hughes (no information available)

Robert Jackson, who was part of the lawsuit by the Campaign
for Fiscal Equity in which a judge ordered the state to give more
money to New York City's schools, is the director of field services
in New York City and Long Island for the New York State Public
Employees Federation. He has served as a representative to community
school board 6, as president of a tenants association, and as
a member of the Concerned Democratic Coalition of Northern Manhattan.

Nicholas Kallilvokas (no information available)

Mark Levine is executive director of the non-profit, Credit
Where Credit is Due that promotes economic development in
Upper Manhattan. He is also president of Neighborhood Trust, a
credit union in Washington Heights and West Harlem and a former
teacher.

Pedro Morillo (no information available)

Jackie Rowe-Adams is recreation manager for Morningside
Park and Jackie Robinson Park. She has been involved in community
board 10, school board 5, and sits on the White House Parent Youth
Council on Drug Abuse.

Faisal M. Sipra (no information available)

Mario Torres is vice president of the Battery Park City
Authority and is involved in with the Retired Seniors Volunteer
Program, the Foundation Board of the Borough of Manhattan Community
College, and the National Puerto Rican Forum.

Tony Spencer is the director of the New York City Black
Leadership Commission on AIDS. He served in the Air Force, is
a State Democratic Party Committee member, a colonel in the National
Guard.

Campaign Trail

9/5/01
Heywood Dotson retreated to his mother's house in Staten Island after being
disqualified in the City Council race in district 7 and returned home to
learn he was reported dead. The saga added even more color to a race already
saturated with it. District 7 is sprawling and diverse, stretching from
123rd to 218th Street, covering Manhattanville, West Harlem, Hamilton
Heights, Washington Heights and Inwood - and it has a field befitting it.
There are 10 Democrats on the primary ballot, so many that candidates start
staking out subway stops at 6:30 a.m. because there are barely enough to go
around. (NY Times)

8/29/01 The New York Times today endorsed a candidate in this race.
Seventh District (Washington Heights, West Harlem and Inwood):
The two top candidates in this race are Robert Jackson, a longtime
champion of quality education, and Mark Levine, an energetic community
activist. Mr. Levine has done an important service to the neighborhood
by establishing a community development credit union. But Mr.
Jackson has spent years working for better schools for the entire
city. He breathed life into the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, which
recently won a historic lawsuit to bring the city more state funds.
In a year when virtually every candidate says schools are the
top priority, our choice is Robert Jackson.

07/24/01
Some of Hollywood's biggest names are taking sides in a little-noticed
City Council race - all thanks to a childhood friendship between
a novice candidate and superstar actor Edward Norton. Producers
David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg have each chipped in $2,500
to Mark Levine, one of 10 Democrats slugging it out to succeed
term-limited Councilman Stanley Michels in district 7 in northern
Manhattan. Actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Courtney Love have also
written $2,500 checks, as has Norton himself. Director Milos Forman
came in with $250. Levine has amassed an impressive $105,644 war
chest, surpassing his two closest rivals, Mario Torres, a vice
president of the Battery Park City Authority ($82,066), and Robert
Jackson, who led the lawsuit challenging the state's education
formula ($33,607). (NY
Post)

6/13/01
Many candidates are having difficulties gathering signature petitions,
especially in crowded races like district 7. For Council candidates
like Victor Bernace, who has only a few volunteers and is walking
the streets of the Seventh Council District himself, the battleground
stretches from West Harlem to Inwood. When he went to a large
housing project, he discovered that three out of four residents
had signed for a rival, Mario Torres, who he said had the backing
of a local Democratic organization. "He probably got enough already,
but he's going and going and going," Mr. Bernace said. (New York
Times)

06/01/01
A crusading Washington Heights attorney and a taxi driver Irving
Gelb have gotten together to prove, in the courts, that the City's
Board of Election has disenfranchised the city's voters for the
last 42 years. Gelb is a Bronx cab driver who, for over 40 years,
has run for various political offices as a write in candidate
and whose votes were never counted. (Washington
Heights Report)

5/10/01
Mr. Torres is focused on serving on the City Council. "My experience,
commitment to public service and motivation clearly makes me a
candidate. This is not an exercise in getting name-recognition
or testing the waters. This is about putting together a team that
is going to make us all winners. The district that I am running
for has an active and diverse community comprised of multiple
religious and ethnic groups, recent immigrants and artists; whoever
represents this district needs to make a sincere attempt to become
fluent in the issues affecting all these communities. I've been
involved professionally with diversity all my life." (Manhattan
Times)

District
1 -- Lower Manhattan
Whoever wins the election in district 1 will represent immigrant
Chinese garment workers, as well as Wall Street traders living
in Battery Park City. There are several candidates hoping
to be the council's firsts -- the first Asian-American man,
the first Asian-American woman, the first gay Rhodes Scholar,
the first dot-com guru -- running against some politically
well connected opponents. Endorsements and fundraising will
play a big role in this race. But voter turnout could be the
main determinant of who will next represent district 1 on
the council. The key question is how many voters from each
community will come out on Election Day.

District
7 -- Washington Heights, Manhattan
The northern tip of Manhattan has become one of the most popular
places for new immigrants to call home. The northern tip of
Manhattan is a place that today's new immigrants call home.
The majority have come from the Dominican Republic, but also
from countries in South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia.
But it is not just new immigrants that are moving in. Students,
artists, and other Manhattanites looking for less expensive
rents and larger apartments have also moved north. Ten Democratic
candidates are competing for the 15,000 voters expected on
primary day. The winner who emerges from a crowded field of
candidates will have to balance the needs of the newcomers
with those who have lived there for years.

District
16 -- Highbridge, Bronx
The neighborhoods of district 16 are the city's poorest, with
the highest rate of unemployment and the lowest median household
income. But those who live there also point out that much
is positive and stable about the area, thanks in large part
to local organizations, not-for-profit agencies, and houses
of worship that help hold the neighborhoods together. Each
candidate for City Council believes that through his or her
connections to churches and local organizations, they can
help empower the community toward a better life. Helen Foster,
the current council member daughter, will face Michael Benjamin,
who has worked as an aide to several government officials
and Anthony Curry, a Bronx neighborhood activist.

District
20 -- Northeast Flushing, Queens
This year district 20 may elect the first Asian-American ever
to the City Council to an area which now has the second highest
number of immigrants from Korea and Taiwan in the city. There
are three Asian candidates in the Democratic race who have
each drawn big endorsements. Council Speaker Peter Vallone
endorsed Terence Park, City Comptroller Alan Hevesi endorsed
John Liu, and the New York Times recently endorsed Ethel Chen
The campaign has also drawn national and international press
coverage

District
25 -- Jackson Heights, Queens
Thirty-seventh Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens is one of
the most diverse streets in the world. Little India quickly
blends into Little Colombia, with vendors selling Latin American
food to Colombians, Peruvians, Ecuadorians, Mexicans, and
Uruguayans. And each summer, the Queens Pride Parade fills
the same street with rainbow banners. So it is no surprise
that this election year the district produced a diverse field
of candidates. A number of them, however, found out that getting
on the ballot is not an easy task, especially when the Queens
Democratic organization sends teams of lawyers to challenge
petitions. But five Democratic candidates survived and will
face off on September 11.

District
31 -- South East Queens
When a heavy rain hits southeast Queens, many residents in
neighborhoods like Springfield Gardens, Laurelton and Rosedale
head to the basement with a bucket in hand. And it has been
that way for the last 50 years. In the rush to build housing
in the area after World War II, developers overlooked the
need for storm drains in hopes that the city would eventually
build a city-wide sewer system. The plan never materialized
and the area has experienced "100-year rains" three times
in the last decade. The eight Democrats -- all with little
experience overseeing massive infrastructure projects--will
try to convince voters that they can finally solve the flooding
problems.

District
35 -- Central Brooklyn
The residents in council district 35 have some of the highest
incomes in Brooklyn and some of the lowest. They can play
in a famous park and a beautiful botanical garden, and live
in the city's most crumbling public housing. They can attend
one of the four institutions of higher learning in the district,
and the worst-scoring high schools in the city. Such juxtapositions
are a way of life for a district that includes the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Brooklyn Botanical
Gardens; mid dle-class African-American communities near Prospect
Park; immigrant communities from Haiti, Sierra Leon, Nigeria,
and Trinidad, and in Crown Heights, a mix of Hasidic Jews
and African-Americans. Seven Democratic candidates are campaigning
in hopes that they can bring some kind of unity, and attention,
to the area. Their backgrounds are as diverse as the neighborhoods
themselves.

District
39 -- Park Slope/Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
The candidates in district 39 include a chief of staff for
an Assemblywoman, the husband of a member of U.S. Congress,
a lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, an attorney and president
of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, Senator Hillary
Clinton's campaign manager, the district manager of Community
Board 6, and a labor organizer. This is the race to watch
this year. The group of high-profile Democrats have raised
a lot of money, almost $1.4 million combined.

District
45 -- East Flatbush
In no place in the city are the effects of campaign finance
reform and term limits being felt more than in East Flatbush.
The seven Democratic candidates seeking to represent this
largely West Indian district come from a number of Caribbean
nations. Many have been working on politicians' staffs and
serving with community groups, clearly hoping someday to win
their own elected office. Term limits has presented them with
that opportunity, and they want to make the most of it. But
this race that usually draws only about 8,000 voters could
be decided by just a few votes. The candidates are attempting
to come up with anything that will separate them from the
pack.

District
49 -- North Shore, Staten Island
Staten Island has always been somewhat of a suburban stepchild
to New York City. When a 1998 survey asked New Yorkers why
they go to Staten Island, the top two responses were ''visiting
friends and relatives" and ''passing through.'' But in many
ways, the north shore has more in common with areas of Manhattan
and Brooklyn than with the rest of the Staten Island. The
top priority for all the candidates -- Jon Del Giorno, an
administrative manager for the Board of Elections, Mike McMahon,
an attorney and counsel to current Councilmember Jerome O'Donovan,
and Debi Rose, an administrator at the College of Staten Island
and the first African-American candidate in Staten Island
politics -- is to make sure that the island becomes more than
just a turn-around-point for the over one million tourists
who ride the free ferry from Manhattan each year.

American
Dream Party (AMD)
Better Schools Party (BES)
Communist (Com)
Conservative (Con)
Constitution (CST)
Democratic (Dem)
Friends United Party (FUN)
Fusion Party (FUS)
Green (Gre)
Harmony Party (HAR)
Independence (Ind)
Liberal (Lib)
Libertarian (LBT)
Marijuana Reform Party (POT)
Natural Law Party (NLP)
Party of Ethics and Traditions (PET)
Reform Party (Ref)
Republican (Rep)
Right to Life (RTL)
School Choice Party (Sch)
Socialist Workers Party (SWP)
Working Families (Wor)

2001 Election
Calendar

June
1 -- Deadline for candidates to join the Campaign Finance
program, qualifying for the four-to-one match of contributions.June
5 - First day for candidates from the eight major parties
(Democratic, Republican, Indpendence, Conservative, Liberal,
Green, Working Families, and Right to Life) to circulate
petitions. Candidates running for City Council must collect
the signatures of at least 900 people living in the district
for which they are running in order to appear on the Primary
ballot. Candidates not running under these eight major parties
do not appear on the Primary ballot and have a separate
set of deadlines.July 12 - Deadline for major party candidates to
file petitions.July 10 - First day for unaffiliated candidates to
circulate petitions, in order to appear on the ballot in
the General Election. They must collect the number of signatures
equal to five percent of the total enrolled in that party.August 7 - Board of Elections announces candidates
appearing on the Primary ballot. August 17 - Last day for non-absentee voters to register
to vote in the Primary Election. August 21 - Deadline for non-major party candidates
to file petitions to be included on the General Election
ballot. September 4 - Last day to postmark application for
absentee voting in the Primary September 10 - Last day to personally deliver application
for absentee voting in the Primary Last day to postmark
absentee ballot for Primary September 11 - Primary election; Polls open at 6:00a.m.
and close at 9:00p.m.; Absentee ballots must be hand-delivered
by 9:00 p.m. September 25 - Runoff Primary election for Mayor,
Comptroller and Public Advocate, if needed October 12 - Last day to for non-absentee voters
to register to vote in the General Election October 30 - Last day to postmark application for
absentee voting in the General Election November 5 - Last day to hand-deliver an application
for absentee voting, or to postmark an absentee ballot for
the General Election. November 6 - General Election; polls open at 6:00a.m.
and close at 9:00p.m. in NYC; Absentee ballots must be hand-delivered
by 9:00 p.m.